DAY 5 - An Honourable Draw

I once played cricket with a bloke who had a tendency to look on the negative side of life. Whether this was because he was an expert in animal husbandry or because he could tell you intimate facts about bull's semen or just because he came from Newcastle, I really don't know. He was just negative. However, one thing he was very definite about was that there was no such thing as an honourable draw.

He was wrong, of course and today's events at Edgbaston prove it.

The morning session was even with England two wickets closer but Australia moving 59 runs ahead after adding 84.

England toiled well but without the dramatic swing that swept through the Australians earlier in this Test. Onions and Flintoff bowled good opening spells - the former bowling a tight line that asked much of the batsmen's skill; the latter mixing in lots of short stuff which tested the batsmen's courage. It was Watson who got the sharpest edge of Flintoff's barrage and gathered bruises for his trophy shelf. In fact, had it been a training session, you'd swear Freddie was on a skooner a bruise.

Meanwhile, Hussey was driving and pulling his way back into form and turning his back on the glares from bowlers. This proves not that he's a gentleman, just that he's smart.

The addition of Swann presented no worries and both batsmen farmed his over-pitched deliveries with strong driving.

Anderson relieved Flintoff after an hour of muscle-up work and the contrast his line and length provided had immediate rewards when Watson snicked a straight one to Prior. An hour of resistance against that little red leather threat and then a flashed attempt at drive and Watson's second fifty of the match and fourth consecutive fifty on tour, was over. Clarke joined the fray, with those straddled defensive shots and sweet off drives in early appearance.

As the jug was boiled for the lunchtime cuppa, Broad was given a few overs before lunch just to prove he was there and the old off stump problem resurfaced again for Hussey. This time, he should have let it go but he has become so phobic when playing near this particular part of his castle, that he played as though he was afraid not to and edged to Prior instead. This was a vastly improved effort and certainly the driving and pulling looked like Michael Hussey. His 64 contained 13 fours and yet was a conservative Test innings as his strike rate of 49% would attest. Most like the Hussey we have admired, his shot making was clinical. It was also an import contribution but not just in runs. Seeing a mate battle his way back into form because the team needs it puts vertebrae back into the team spine.

After lunch, Clarke and North finished the job of saving the game which Watson and Hussey had started. The pitch and conditions proved to be underwhelming and regardless of who was thrown at them, they countered with more than straight bats because when bad balls came their way, they were dispatched to the boundary. We might expect this level of responsibility from Clarke, the vice captain, but only a few days ago calls were being made for North's head. He has grown in the space of four Test innings. At Cardiff, he cashed in after others had done the hard work, as it so often the case batting at six. In Lords, he was twice bowled off his own bat and failed. Observers should note that here, when it counted, when his mates needed him, North stood up.

England tried everything in this session, including the unusual, with Bopara sending down a few innocuous overs in the partnership breaker role that Doug Walters occupied so well. Second ball, Clarke pulled hard at a long hop and the architect of the plan became demolisher when Andrew Strauss seemed to react late at short mid on and dropped the catch. It was at that moment that the game got away from him ... that a slippery eel slid through his grasp. Anderson was used in an interesting fashion, possibly to optimise what he might do with an old ball. Regardless, nothing worked and Australia went to tea in the ascendancy.

The last session was again Australia's thanks to Clarke and North. After taking the first four overs to crawl past 300, North in particular cut loose with a stunning array of shots and raced into the nineties. He hit three sublime shots in one over from Bopara but with a just reward one boundary away, he failed to move his feet well enough and was out to a superb diving Jimmy Anderson catch in the gully. In fact, it took the two best catches of the match to get North out.

Manou joined Clarke for the red ink and watched while the little lad from Liverpool was caught off a no ball (Bopara the bowler again) and had his off stump tickled and then bought up his second hundred of the series with a four pulled behind square leg - both made in circumstances of extreme need for his team. Apart from the Strauss let off, he was secure and his shot making thoughtful, something maturity has given him.

The Australians leave Edgbaston with their tails up but they need to be careful not to put wall paper over cracks. They must win to retain the Ashes and to do that, they have to take twenty English wickets in the same match. As yet, they don't have the attack to do that. Johnson has improved and his grunt appears back but can he take wickets cheap enough to lead to a victory? Siddle bowled well here and none in the attack have tried harder but can Australia afford to have two bowl fast and grunt style bowlers in our attack under these conditions. England only plays with one. Hauritz bowled well at Edgbaston but although Headingley has a tradition of favouring spinners, that was long ago. Panesar did open the bowling in the second innings against Pakistan in 2006 taking 3 wickets in an English victory and Kumble has bowled well at Leeds but they are different types to Hauritz. Remember also that the great SK Warne only took 3 wickets in three matches at the ground made famous by the 1948 Australians.

Basics: Hilfenhaus is the only Australian bowler in form; Stuart Clark must play if we are to take those 20 English wickets; Hauritz provides variation - full stop. Build the attack around that.

For England, management have to be worried that they didn't do more on the last day. Shades of the tour of West Indies last year when they lost the series in a two hour batting collapse in the first Test and then couldn't finish the Windies off from killer positions in three of the remaining four games. Yet here, they did most things right. The bowlers took the right lines and persevered. The pitch, in the end, was too good. Strauss made good calls but dropped the one crucial catch. How well he recovers from that will be telling.

It terms of personnel, Bopara must stand down but the lack of a suitable replacement with experience would mean plucking someone up from the ranks. If so, what about Jon Trott, another from that London suburb called South Africa? He's a team mate of Ian Bell's at Warwickshire, bats at three or four and is averaging 99 this eason after several prolific county championship seasons. Among the bowlers, Broad must go and Harmison must be included to give the Poms a bit more penetration so that Flintoff doesn't have to carry all the wet stuff. Panesar is a temptation as Australians don't like left arm spinners.

Another absorbing Test match and yes, an honourable draw.